Window cornice box



June 3, 1958 J. TOTl wmnow CORNICE BOX Filed Aug. 8, 1955 IN VE N TOR.

U fied W8 Pa m WINDOW CORNICE BOX N I Andrew J. Toti, Modesto, Calif. "Application August s, 1955, Serial No. 526,873 2 Claims. 01. 160-38) This invention relates to' cornice boxes or'overhead facia board structure as used to conceal the suspension mechanism'of drapes and Venetian blinds, particularly the latter, and the principal object of my invention is to provide a simple supporting structure with an easily applied outer face quicklybuilt up without special tools to exactly match the color of the Venetian blinds or drapes suspended from the box or from any structure concealed by the box. I g

' More specifically the invention comprises a quick simple construction 1 whereby-theouter face 'and ends may be quickly covered with sections of the actual thin flexible arched Venetian blind slats, preferably corresponding to 2,837,150 I Patented June 3, 1Q5 8 ICC I Z retaining edges to which the sections of regular thin flexible arched slats may be applied in accordance with my invention- I In the. drawings the structural portions of the box of Fig. 3, are a wooden front wall 1, wooden top wall 2,

' sired way to the wall of the room or window framing, and

. indicated as by upper outside attaching brackets 4 in the slats used in the Venetian blind for which the box is intended, whether the slats of the blind extend vertically or horizontally.

The details of the invention are shown in the accompanying drawings and specification.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a perspective view of a cornice box as seen from above, made in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross section of Fig. 1 taken along the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view like Fig. 2 showing a slight variation in attaching the facia strips or slats.

Fig. 4 is a full size cross section of Fig. 1 taken along the line 4-4 showing the preferred slight overlap of the facia slats.

Fig. 5 is a full size perspective view of one of the arched facia sections showng the ends as preferably bent over to close the otherwise slight space, and the position of the supporting hooked corners.

Fig. 6 is a vertical section showing a few arched facia slats running horizontally along the outer face of the box.

Fig. 7 is a vertical view of the back of the front wall of thebox showing two methods of securing the slat assemblage to the wall permanently by crimping at intervals.

Fig. Sis a cross sectional optional detail of construction.

Before describing the invention in detail it may be stated that heretofore such facia boxes have generally been made of wood or metal and painted or enameled to match or harmonize with the Venetian blinds they are intended for, whereas in the present invention small sections of the very same slats which compose the blind, are so formed in connection with the edges of the box that they can be simply snapped on, or hooked into engaging grooves, either at the job, or before, and the result is a perfect color and texture match, obtained with very little effort, and an enduring enameled metal facing never requiring repainting.

As the invention relates only to the special quickly applied metal facing of the box made of regular thin flexible arched Venetian blind slats it will be noted that it has no bearing on the solid metal and permanently covered metal boxes heretofore used which all require painting.

The structure of the box itself--i. e. its walls at front and ends, and its top wall or roof may be either of metal or wood or both so long as they are provided with though not concerned with the present improvement is Fig. 1 and lower brackets '4' in Figs. 2 and 3, or the end walls -3 may be secured to the room wall, all as well understood in the art.

As stated the box walls may be of wood or metal, and in Figs. land 2, the top wall isof wood and the front wall 1 is a sheet of metal nailed to the top wall as at 5 and to the end walls if of wood, through the front wall may be continuous with the end walls either bent at right angles or curved around as generally indicated at 3' in This sheet metal wall provides an upper and Fig. 1. lower marginal edge over the special facing Venetian blind slat strips are hooked or snapped on.

If the front and end walls are of wood, a strip of metal may be nailed along the outer margins of the wood to provide the projecting edge as indicated at Fig. 8 at 1", for hooking the facing strips in place, or such a hooking edge may be provided on the wood itself as by a simple saw kerf extending along the upper and lower edges as shown in Fig. 3 at 6.

To cover the supporting box structure described I may use a plurality of strips 7 of the conventional flexible Venetian blind slats of slightly arched cross section. These slats are usually of enameled aluminum or steel, though they may be made of plastic, and while they are extremely thin (about lfi of an inch thick) their arched form and springy nature makes them perfectly straight when placed against a supporting box or framework and it is this fact which adapts such slats as an outer and easily applied facing for the purpose of this invention.

In Figs. 1, 2 and 3 these arched Venetian blind slat v pieces or sections are designated 7 and extend vertically in edge contact or slightly overlapping edge relation and are arranged at their ends to hook over the extending edges of the sheet metal box walls 1, 3 of Figs 1 and 2, or the outer edge strips 1" of Fig. 8, or the outer edge of the saw kerf 6 of wooden walls of the box of Fig. 3, and when so hooked over the edges of the walls the slat sections may be pushed along into tight edge contact or slightly overlapping contact as indicated at 8 in Fig. 4. At curved or sharp corners at the ends of the box they may be bent to suit. Since the slat sections are flexible and springy they may be readily snapped over their engagement with the edge of the box walls.

The slat strips may also be arranged horizontally to cover the box walls as shown in Figs. 6 and 7 at 7' and wherein the longitudinal edges are hooked over as at 9 to engage opposite edges of box wall 1 and the intermediate slat strips may have their longitudinal edges hooked together as at 10 in Fig. 6. Also, if desired to more firmly lock the strips against removal, their hooked over upper and lower margins 9 may be cn'mped in a few spots as at 11 in Fig. 7. Also if desired, the sheet metal wall 1 of the box may have some spaced fins 12A struck outwardly or 12B groove to engage the hooked edges of intermediate horizontal slat strips 7A or 7B if very long to prevent bulging, and as shown in Fig. 6.

The form of the hooking over ends of the vertical slat strips of Figs. 1 to 3 may include a slight flanging over is of the ends of the strips as shown in Fig. 5, as well as curving downward of .the lower ends (as shown in Fig. l at 13, or a design line 16 pressed out in slat 7 Fig. 1).

In Fig. 5 the back of concave side of the strip 7 is shown and the opposite ends formed with hooked ends at 14 to engage over the edges of the box, to snap on. Also the ends are preferably flanged inwardly a little as at 15 to make a better end finish.

With the construction described, a window Cornice box may be quickly faced with pre-enameled Venetian blind slat sections, thus making it possible to do away with painting, and secure a perfect match for the blinds by using the identical slats as used in the blind itself.

Having thus described my improvement in window cornice boxes what I claim is: v

1 In a cornice box having a top, and both front and end walls, said front and end walls formed to provide thin upper and lower freely engageable outer edges directed respectively upward and downward, and a series of extremely thin flexible springy facia slats each of a length substantially equal to the height of said walls arranged vertically against the outer surface of said walls in substantially abutting edge relation to cover the same, and said springy facia slats each flanged rearwardly at their upper and lower ends only, in a manner to be sprung to snap over engagement with the thin engageable edges of said walls.

2. In a cornice box having a top, and both front and end walls, said front and end walls formed to provide thin upper and lower freely engageable outer edges directed respectively upward and downward, and a series of extremely thin flexible springy facia slats each of a length substantially equal to the height of said walls arranged vertically against the outer surface of said walls in substantially abutting edge relation to cover the same, and said springy facia slats each permanently convexly arched outwardly transversely of its length and flanged rearward- 1y at their upper and lower ends only, in a manner to be sprung to snap over engagement with the thin engageable edges of said walls and with the flanges substantially closing otf the open arched spaces.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,677,627 Goodrow luly 17, 192.8 2,103,395 Wade et a1. a Dec. 28, 1937 2,110,611 i h M r- 2. .8 2,155,152 Shehan .i Apr. 18, 1939 2,224,319 c nw v De .0 1. 2,565,588 Bruno Aug. 28, Mayer May 4, FOREIGN PATENTS I g 3,233 Great Britain t -l -l A; 1908 156,577 Australia May 18,; 1954 

